UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called for the immediate release of the remaining hostages captured during the March 1 attack in northeast Nigeria. On Monday Guterres condemned the killing of International Committee of the Red Cross aid worker Hauwa Mohammed Liman, one of the three nurses abducted during the March 1 attack. The attack [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project and the Asian-American Advancing Justice-Atlanta group challenging a Georgia law that allows the rejection of absentee ballots if signatures do not match other state records. The law makes the election official’s determination regarding the signature final, with no avenue for [...]

PEN America filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump on Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging several violations of the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of the press. The plaintiffs allege retaliatory actions for unfavorable news reporting, including, “initiating a government review to raise postal rates; [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged Saudi Arabia to be more transparent in its investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last week. “Mr Khashoggi entered the Consulate and has never been seen since, the onus is on the Saudi authorities to reveal what happened to him from that [...]

Sears Holdings Corporation (Holdings) filed for bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday, announcing that it intends to remain in business but will close at least 142 stores by the end of the year. Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, filed a petition for debt relief [...]

President of The Gambia Adama Barrow on Tuesday announced announced the creation of a Truth and Reparations Commission to investigate and reconcile the crimes of former president Yahya Jammeh. Jammeh reigned over The Gambia for 23 years, taking power through a bloody coup d’etat and thereafter allegedly committing many crimes against humanity including the murders [...]

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday announced new measures set to fight transnational organized crime. These steps include the forming of a Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, which, along with other government agencies, will be tasked with identifying certain groups that pose a threat to the US. Sessions identified five criminal groups as top [...]

Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit Monday challenging a Kansas birth certificate policy that prevents transgender individuals from changing the gender designation on their birth certificates. Lambda filed the suit on behalf of four transgender Kansas residents. While no specific law prohibits changing the gender designation on birth certificates, the plaintiffs allege that Kansas enforces a policy [...]

The US Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal by two paint manufacturers (Sherwin-Williams Co. and NL Industries, Inc.) seeking to limit their liability for lead poisoning. The paint manufacturers filed their appeal in July asking the court to decide whether the First Amendment allows the state of California to file tort actions against [...]

Companies worldwide must be accountable to their governments for ignoring human rights responsibilities, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights said in a report Tuesday. The experts urged businesses to comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in order to prevent negative impacts on human rights through due diligence. [...]